Bedcover support



July 28, 1942.

M. C. F. BENT BED COVER SUPPORT Filed July 11, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet l vINVENTOR. v

[Va-Ma July 28, 1942. M. c. F. BENT BED COVER SUPPORT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed July 11, 1939 IN VENTOR.

Mtg-Z54 611198 Patented July 28, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEBEDCOVER SUPPORT Martha 0. F. Bent, Haverford, Pa. Application July 11,1939, Serial No. 283,718

8 Claims.

an improved device for supporting bed covers or the like out of contactwith an occupant of a bed, and it is designed primarily to provide adevice of such character that will olfer a minimum of obstruction toaccess to the bed when expanded and which may be readily collapsed andfolded compactly along the bed rail or side boards when not in use.

In its preferred embodiment, my improved device comprises a verticallyadjustable pillar which alone forms a support for a cantilever polygonalcollapsible frame extending over or bridging the bed; the pillar beingpreferably mounted on a bracket having a clamp for attaching it to afixed bed member and the bracket being also provided with devices forsupporting the pillar in either a vertical position or a horizontalposition.

Preferably,

My invention is the pillar has a laterally extending head portionproviding a broad bearing for a frame member hingedly connectedtherewith. Such hinged frame member or beam has pivotally connectedtherewith stringers and links which may be so expanded as to providebridging members affording a broad bearing surface extendingtransversely to the pillar for supporting bed covers or the like or maybe so collapsed and folded as to lie snugly between the beam and thepillar when the latter are turned so as to lie in substantially parallelrelation to one another.

The stringers of each unit may be made of such length as to extend thewhole, or any desired part, of the width of the bed, but it is generallypreferable to provide one unit on each side of the bed having stringersof such length that they may be brought into registration and latchedtogether midway of the sides of the bed. The units on opposite sides ofthe bed are similar to one another but preferably the stringers andlinks of one frame are turned on their beam reversely to the arrangementof the stringers and links on the other beam so that the pillars of eachdevice may be located adjacent to the foot of the bed.

The stringers of one frame may be provided with sockets and thestringers of the other frame may be provided with hinged bolts forlatching the frames together.

The characteristic features and advantages of my improvements willfurther appear from the following description of a preferred embodimentof my invention and the accompanying drawings in illustration thereof.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a bed frame having acomplementary pair of ing a close my improved bed cover supports mountedposite sides thereof in expanded position; Fig. 2 is a side elevation ofa fragmentary section of a bed rail having one of my bed cover supportsmounted thereon in collapsed position; Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspectiveview of a bracket and clamp for attaching a pillar of a bed coversupport to a bed rail; Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary perspectiveview of the upper portion of a pillar and attached parts; Fig. 5 is anenlarged fragmentary perspective view of the outer part of the main beamof a frame and attached parts; and Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspectiveview of stringers and links of complementary frames with latchingmembers thereon for coupling together the frames supported on oppositesides of a bed.

A pair of devices embodying my invention are shown in the drawingsattached to the angular side rails of a conventional type of hospitalbed, from which the usual adjustable spring frame and accessories havebeen omitted for the sake of clearness. It will, however, be understoodthat my improved devices may be used in conjunction with any desiredtype of bed and that the supporting bracket may be provided with anyappropriate form of clamp for engaging a structural member of the bed orother firm foundation.

In the embodiment of my invention illustrated in the drawing, the pillarsupporting bracket consists of a bent metal strap having a section Ilying on the horizontal flange of the bed rail; a lip or flange 2 on oneside of the section I and hooked over the edge of the flange; and a U-section on the other side of the section I and formed of the members 3,4 and 5. The external face of the member 5 has projecting therefromspaced lugs 6 and I and the threaded shank 8, which is centered withrespect to the lugs.

L-shaped members 9 and 9' form a channel for the reception of the lowerportion of the vertical flange of the bed rail on which they are drawnup by a headed bolt Ill passing through the members 4 and 9 and a wingnut 10 threaded on the bolt.

The bracket supports a pillar or stanchion composed of telescopedmembers H and I2. The member H forms a rectangular tubular slidewaycontaining an aperture in its lower end for the passage of the stud 8,and may be held in either a vertical position between the studs 6 and 1or in a horizontal position between the studs by a wing nut 8',illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, respectively.

The body of the member I2 forms a slide makslip fit in the slideway IIand con- OIl Optains a series of apertures l4 extending longitudinallythereof and which may be brought respectively into registration withapertures |5 in the walls of the slideway The slide 2 may be fixed at adesired elevation with respect to the slideway II by the engagement of aspringpressed pin IS in registering apertures I4 and I5 of the slide andslideway.

A head IT projects laterally from the top of the slide l2 and hashingedly connected thereto a knuckle I8 which supports a cantilever beamcomposed of a tubular rectangular slideway 9 and slide 20. The fulcrumpoint between the beam and head is laterally spaced from the slide I2.Hence when the beam is turned in one direction on its hinge the headprovides an extended bearing therefor and when the beam is turned in theother direction on its hinge it may lie parallel with the pillar butspaced therefrom.

The beam forms one side of a polygonal cantilever frame for wholly orpartially bridging the bed and comprising stringers 2| and 22 and links23, 24, 25 and 26. The members 2| and 23 are journalled on a pin 27 setin the knuckle l8 and slideway H9 and securing them together. Themembers 22 and 24 are detachably journalled on a pin 23 set in the endof the slide 20. The members 23 and 24 are pivotally connected by a pin29. The members 2| and 25, 25 and 26, and 26 and 22 are pivotallyconnected with one another by the pintles 30, 3| and 32 respectively.

The unit mounted on the left side of the bed in Fig. 1 is provided withtubular sockets 33 and 34 on the ends of its stringers 2| and 22, andthe complementary unit mounted on the right side of the bed is providedwith swinging bolts 35 and 36 on the ends of its similar stringers andadapted for engagement in the sockets 33 and 34 to latch the unitstogether.

Normally the pillars will be turned horizontally along the rails of thebed and supported in such horizontal position by the lugs 6 and 7, bolt8 and nut 8', as shown in Fig. 2. In this position of the pillar, themembers 22 and 24 are disengaged from the pin 28 and the bridgingmembers are folded into alignment with the frame beam which is turned onits hinge parallel to the pillar so that the bridging members are nestedbetween the pillar and beam of the respective units.

When the devices are to be used for supporting bed covers or the like,the nuts 8 are slackened to permit the pillars to be moved outward onthe bolts 8 sufficiently to clear the studs 6 and I, and the pillars areturned to the vertical position and again engaged between the studs 6and by screwing up the nuts 8'.

The knuckles I8 are then rocked so that the beams lie on top of theheads I 1. The beams may be rectilinearly expanded to a desired degreeby drawing the slides 20 out of the slideways 9. The stringers 2| and 22are then turned normally to the beams, and the members 35 and 36 areengaged in the sockets 33 and 34, and the members 22 and 24 are sleevedon the pins 28.

Having described my invention I claim:

1. A bed cover support comprising a cantilever polygonal collapsibleframe and a single supporting pillar having a head hingedly connectedwith said frame, said hinged connection permitting the rocking of saidframe bodily to position parallel to and on one side of said pillar andto a position transverse to said pillar with the bulk of the area ofsaid frame extending from the side of said pillar opposite the sidefirst named, and said head forming an extended rest beneath said framein the transverse position of the latter, and said frame comprisingmembers pivotally connected to one another and all foldable to positionssubstantially parallel with said pillar and with one another without thedetachment of said frame from said pillar.

2. A bed cover supporting device comprising a frame having memberspivoted together to form a polygonal collapsible cantilever frameincluding a beam, a pillar having a rigid head forming a rest beneathand supporting said beam when the device is in cover supportingposition, a pivotal connection between the supporting head and saidbeam, a bracket to which the foot of said pillar is pivotally connectedand means for aflixing said pillar to said bracket in a horizontalposition or a vertical position.

3. A bed cover supporting device comprising a pillar having a laterallyextending head and an expansible and collapsible frame pivotallyconnected with said head at a corner of said frame and at a point offsetfrom said pillar, said frame comprising members pivotally connected withone another adjacent to their ends only, said head forming an extendedrest beneath a member of said frame when said device is in coversupporting position and said frame folding under said head whencollapsed and turned on its said pivotal connection with said head to aposition at right angles to its cover supporting position.

4. A bed cover support having a pillar with a laterally projecting headand a collapsible frame pivotally connected with and supported by saidhead and including a beam foldable into position substantially parallelwith said pillar and bridging members one of which is pivotallyconnected with one end of said beam and another of which is detachablypivotally connected with the other end of said beam and foldable intopositions between said pillar and beam and a link connection between theouter ends of the bridging members.

5. A bed cover support comprising a pillar, a beam pivotally connectedwith and supported by said pillar, stringers pivotally connected withthe opposite ends of said beam, and pivotally connected linksrespectively connected pivotally with the respective stringers, saidbeam, stringers and links forming a polygonal frame supported at onecorner only thereof by said pillar and collapsible into a bundle andsaid stringers and links lying between the pillar and beam when thelatter is rocked on its pivot into position parallel with the length ofsaid pillar.

6. A bed cover support comprising a pillar, a rectilinearly expansibleand collapsible beam pivotally connected with said pillar, pivotallyconnected links respectively connected with the respective ends of saidbeam, stringers respectively connected pivotally with the opposite endsof said beam and pivotally connected links respectively connectedpivotally with the outer ends of said stringers.

7. A bed cover support comprising a pillar, a bracket having means forsupporting said pillar horizontally or vertically, said pillar having arectilinearly projecting head, a beam hingedly connected with said headand comprising telescoped members, stringers pivotally connected withthe respective members, pivotally connected links pivotally connectedwith the respective members and pivotally connected links respectivelyconnected with the respective stringers at the opposite ends thereoffrom said beam, a stringer and link aforesaid being detachably connectedand said stringers and links being collapsible into substantialalignment with said beam, and housed between said beam and pillar whensaid beam is turned parallel to said pillar.

8. A bed cover supporting device comprising a pillar having a headtransverse thereto, a beam having an end pivotally connected with an endof said head and movable about an axis normal to the length of saidpillar into positions parallel to and at a right angle to the length ofsaid pillar, stringers respectively connected with the ends of said beamand links pivotally connected with one another and with the respectivestringers, the axes of all the pivotal connections between the beam;stringers and links being parallel with one another and substantiallyparallel with the length of said pillar when the device is incover-supporting position, and said stringers and links lying betweenthe planes of said beam and pillar when said stringers and links arecollapsed and said beam is turned parallel to said 10 pillar.

MARTHA C. F. BENT.

